Kane urged to finance D.A.R.E.

November 13, 2003|By William Presecky, Tribune staff reporter.

Faced with the prospect that Kane County's drug-awareness program may be cut after this semester for more than 900 preteen students in unincorporated areas, several teachers and school administrators Wednesday urged the County Board to fund the program for the rest of the school year.

The County Board's Executive Committee declined last week to grant Kane County Sheriff Ken Ramsey's request for $15,000 in casino riverboat funds to tide the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program over the next semester. Ramsey is searching for an alternative funding source to the one he lost when the Hollywood Casino in Aurora withdrew its longtime support.

The county's riverboat funds come from the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin and are unrelated to any community donations made by the Aurora-based casino.

Since making his request in late July for a share of the riverboat money, Ramsey has clashed with several board members over the D.A.R.E. issue. Members have questioned the value of continuing the controversial D.A.R.E. program and asked whether it shouldn't be funded from Ramsey's budget.

Although no formal action regarding D.A.R.E. was sought during the County Board meeting Wednesday, calls for the board to help continue the program prompted board member William Wyatt (R-Aurora) to suggest that Ramsey consider using proceeds from his drug-asset-forfeiture fund to cover D.A.R.E. costs. According to county finance department records, Ramsey has nearly $46,000 in the fund.

Education is "one of the mandated uses of that fund," Wyatt said.

Ramsey was unavailable for comment Wednesday and Capt. Rick McKiness, who oversees the county's D.A.R.E. program, declined to be drawn into any debate over the sheriff's budget.

"This is not about the sheriff and the County Board. This is about the children in our community. Barring a replacement, [D.A.R.E.] must be allowed to continue," McKiness said. "To me, that's the only issue on the table here."

If the D.A.R.E. program is abandoned, Mooseheart Child City, near North Aurora, will be especially hard-hit, said Supt. Gary Urwiler.

"To pull the plug on these kids is shortsighted," Urwiler said.

Mooseheart teacher Kristy Wenberg said D.A.R.E. has had "a strong and important influence on our students and school."